Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is being embraced by the medical community. This is in part because it is a non-pharmacological therapeutic intervention that is simple to carry out, economical, and has very few side effects (Busse et al. 2017). One area that is being explored is the use of acupuncture to decrease the individual’s headache frequency, intensity, duration and acute medication requirements.

My first recommendation for those who suffer from migraines is to work with a physician to develop strategies to manage symptoms. Then treatment programs should be implemented based on patient-specific assessment findings and patient tolerance.

People often assume that acupuncture is synonymous with Traditional Chinese Medicine and that anyone who uses acupuncture does so based on 'qi' or 'meridians'. This is a misconception. Regardless of its theoretical basis, based on the traditional and official definition, the term acupuncture refers to the actual insertion of a needle into the body (Fan et al. 2016).

Acknowledging that traditional narratives outdated, medical acupuncture is an approach that is based upon a theory that is inline current scientific understanding of how the body works. Reframing acupuncture form of peripheral nerve stimulation technique in which acupuncture needles are inserted into anatomically defined sites, and stimulated manually or with electricity (White 2009).

Preferential sites for acupuncture stimulation are associated with areas rich in specialized sensory receptors such as muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, ligament receptors, Paciniform and Ruffini’s receptors (joint capsules), deep pressure endings (within muscle belly), and free nerve endings (muscle and fascia). All of these areas are highly innervated and as a result there are a number of physiological responses that help modulate the experience of pain.

Structures to be aware of when treating cervicogenic headaches

A treatment plan should be implemented based on patient-specific assessment findings and patient tolerance. Structures to keep in mind while assessing and treating patients suffering from migraine headaches may include neurovascular structures and investing fascia of:

Mechanism of Action

The British Medical Journal recently published a State of The Art Review looking at the evidence base surrounding acupuncture. It suggests that if you use Occam's razor, the insertion of an acupuncture needle is a form of novel stimuli, that functions by sending anti-nociceptive input to the neuroimmune system. This contributes to a number of physiological changes across different areas of the peripheral and central nervous systems, including peripheral receptors, dorsal horn of the spinal cord, brainstem, sensorimotor cortical areas, and the mesolimbic and prefrontal areas (Chen et al. 2017).

Is Acupuncture a Placebo?

The way we present ourselves and present our techniques is tied to clinical outcomes, the magnitude of a response may be influenced by mood, expectation, and conditioning. In any discussion on therapeutic effect it is important to acknowledge the placebo response.

Waki, H., Suzuki, T., Hisajima, T. (2017). Effects of electroacupuncture to the trigeminal nerve area on the autonomic nervous system and cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex. Acupunct Med.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28765118

Richard Lebert Registered Massage Therapy

Richard is a Registered Massage Therapist in London Ontario who is experienced in the assessment and treatment of sport injuries. Richard uses a Adaptive Manual therapy which means that myofascial release, acupuncture, cupping, sports massage and IASTM are used in an individualized one on one treatment.